


Modern Boof AU

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [64]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Breaking and Entering, Corruption, Multi, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-29 23:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20444288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: More Cometverse AU, this time in Modern Werewolf flavour.Werewolves aren't real, obviously. But apparently no one ever told the one who attacked Isa last week.Not part of the Main Cometverse timeline.





	Modern Boof AU

**Author's Note:**

> 'this one will be short' i said when i start this, 'i wont put as much work into this as the mermaid au'
> 
> jokes on us it's almost exactly the same length.
> 
> anyways, isa, lea and comet are all around the 21-23 area (baby adults), isa is a trans man, xion is roughly 11 (amab nonbinary but headed for transfeminine), roxas is roughly twelve, and vanitas is 13.
> 
> this has only been skim-editted so. yeah it might be a little rough in places.

Life was a little dull, a little slow, but satisfying. 

….Well okay, the retail job with shitty hours and even shittier pay wasn’t great, but you had made it through the foster system in more or less one piece before being adopted by Bruna and her wife, you’d made a solid circle of friends you can count on through thick and thin. Heck, the stray dog you’d been feeding for the past couple months practically counted as a pet.

And the cherry on top? Netted yourself a damn fine pair of boyfriends if you do say so yourself.

You’re still not entirely sure how that happened, honestly. A combination of luck and skill, though the skill probably fell all on Isa, since you and Lea were both certified disasters at the best of times. But all three of you had managed it somehow, and now Isa complained of having to take care of three children instead of one.

You argued the point based solely on the fact that Xion was an exemplary well behaved child and should hardly count.

Isa had still won that one, but you’d tried. 

You’re half-way through your shift, dully stocking shelves when your phone buzzes. The store is dead quiet and your manager is on break, so you feel safe in edging the corner out of your pocket to check who it was.

Three missed messages blink back at you, one from Aerith asking if you could pick up some seeding supplies for her on your way home, one from Xion several hours ago that looks like a whole list of questions that trails off long after the limited preview text bubble, and one from-

It’s from Isa, but even the preview text has three gratuitous misspellings and text shorthand abound, which is extremely out of character for Isa, who always painstakingly types in full grammatical sentences.

You pull the phone fully from your pocket in concern, opening the text fully.

moonmoon: cmet smth happend com home

You didn’t live together, but it was common enough for all three of you to refer to each others places as ‘home’. That wasn’t the strange part. The strange part is the hasty spelling and the all but begging tone of the text. This isn’t like Isa at all. Even after whatever happened last week (he wouldn’t tell you, but you were pretty sure he’d been mugged, and was going to have some nasty new scars for the experience) he never typed like that.

incomingapocalypse: are u drunk whats wrong

The reply takes entirely too long for your now anxious mind, especially considering how prompt Isa usually was with his replies, even with taking the time to type out everything properly. You’re not sure how he manages it.

You glance around the store nervously, desperately hoping no one comes in right now. The phone buzzes again.

moonmoon: pls pleaS coom hone

You’re halfway out of the store by the time you’ve finished reading, not even bothering to take off your apron. 

“Where are you-?” Your manager, an older man named Cid, is just coming back from his smoke break. You barely pause.

“Something’s wrong I have to go, I’m sorry!”

Hopefully you’ll still have a job when you got back, but you were too scared to worry about that right now, strapping yourself into your beat up minivan and peeling out of the parking lot as quickly as you can manage.

Isa’s place is a little ways away, for city driving, but it’s still less than a twenty minute drive. Your phone buzzes several more times at first before falling deathly silent in the cup holder next to you. You don’t dare check it.

You wait impatiently for the automatic gates to Isa’s apartment to swing ponderously open before parking sloppily in one of the guest stalls. There’s no time for propriety right now.

He’s only on the second floor, so you hoof it up the stairs as quickly as you can manage, cursing to yourself.

“I swear to god if this is a prank-” You huff, more out of worry than anything.

It’s not a prank.

You shoulder the door open, meeting heavy resistance at the attempt. A chair has been thrown in front of it, and the rest of the room isn’t much better. There are deep gouges in the hardwood floors, furniture has been toppled and destroyed, bits of fabric and glass dotting the area like so many landmines.

“Oh shit.” You whisper to yourself, pulling your keys into defence mode as you push your way inside.

This is stupid, you know, what if whoever had wrecked the place was still here?

But Isa had asked you to come home.

God what if he was hurt?

What if he was _ dead _?

Your hands shake. Situation first. You can’t think about what you might have to tell Lea right now.

Picking your way through the smashed glass is tricky but you manage it for the most part, until about half way down the hall, where your foot nudges a discarded lump of what once was a picture frame, the wood scratching loudly against the floor.

A loud growl erupts from ahead, making your heart stop in your chest.

What was that?

A soft, tremulous voice speaks, and you can just barely make out the words.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Stay down. Down. Good. Good boy.”

“Xion?” You call, recognizing the voice. There’s a thump, and then another, and another, almost rhythmic. 

“Comet? Oh Comet please- wait, come in, but slow, okay? Don’t freak out.”

They sound flustered. Which no matter what’s going on is fair, judging by the state of this place.

“Okay,” You say, keeping your voice as level as possible. “I’m coming in. What happened-”

You don’t really get to finish the question as you turn the corner and are greeted by both one answer followed by a number of more questions.

Xion is standing in the center of the kitchen, arms wrapped around the muzzle of a large blue-gray dog.

Or you think it’s a dog.

Even on its haunches it’s ears are above your head. Big golden eyes glance at you dolefully but it doesn’t move otherwise, held in place by Xion’s arms. It could almost assuredly break free, but seems entirely unwilling to risk moving while they hold him. A massive tail thumps repeatedly against the floor at the sight of you.

There’s blood dripping down it’s muzzle and onto Xion’s arms from uneven cuts stretching across its face and forehead. If you look you can almost see the glint of glass still poking out of the wound. 

“What the fuck.” Is the best thing you can think to say.

Xion bursts into giggles, which just as quickly turn into sobs. They drop slowly to their knees, apparently losing strength as they cry. The massive wolf drops its head with them, whining loudly.

You take a chance and edge forward. Xion releases the muzzle to wipe at their eyes, but only manages to get blood on their cheek. The only move the hound makes is to nudge them with its nose, attempting to comfort. It looks up as you draw closer and you freeze, but its tail only thumps against the ground again.

Xion sobs again, and it glances between you like it can’t decide who to go to. It whines piteously again.

“Xion.” You start, swallowing thickly. “Where’s Isa?”

Xion reaches up to pat the huge dog against the thick ruff of his neck.

“This is Isa.” They manage through their tears.

Isa just lets his head fall to rest in their lap, blinking large animalistic eyes up at them.

You on the other hand, find your brain screeching to a sudden, hard stop.

“That’s a joke right?”

It’s not a joke.

Eventually you manage to coax Xion out from under the dog (Isa?) and get the eleven year old cleaned up. You wipe away the blood and then gently, hesitantly pat down the wolf, trying your best to pull out the glass without hurting him. He whines mostly, and at one point he snaps at the air, but otherwise doesn’t lash out at you. You’re not totally sure how to bandage it without blinding him, but you make your best effort. You hope he doesn’t need stitches because your expired first aid courses hadn’t covered that. 

You’re dabbing at the remaining blood in his fur when you catch a glimpse of bronze in his ears. You catch the sob in your throat, running your fingers over the little metal stars and suns. 

They’d been a gift from you and Lea, beautiful bronze celestial earrings for his birthday. Isa loved the sky, the stars, the moon, the sun, the little earrings had been perfect.

And here they are, in the ears of a wolf. 

Any remaining thought that this might be a cruel prank takes flight. Isa hardly ever took them off, he would never allow them to be worn by someone else, let alone an animal. 

You sniffle loudly, causing the wolf to nuzzle your arms in worry, before getting back to work. 

You finish up and then get Xion onto one of the few surviving pieces of furniture. Isa trots along behind you both, tail wagging and tongue lolling before curling up on the floor around the lounge set you’d settled on. Bit by bit the story comes out of them.

Isa had come home last week with strange bite marks and covered in blood. That much you remembered, the so-called mugging. Since then he’d been feeling sick and out of it. You frown as they recount that, realising Isa must have been working very hard to keep his illness from you and Lea, since neither of you had known anything was wrong.

He’d gone to the doctors, but aside a cursory check and some antibiotics they hadn’t been able to determine anything truly wrong, so he’d simply been home and resting.

Xion had come from school to find him nearly unconscious on the couch. Normally he came to walk them home if he wasn’t working, but they had assumed he was still just feeling sick and didn’t think much of it.

Or they hadn’t, until he’d started jerking and spasming, crying out in pain.

Apparently it was Xion that had texted you, panicking and not sure what to do.

“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?” All things considered you were glad they hadn’t, but it really should have ranked higher than you.

“He was growing ears!” They cry. “And a tail! I didn’t know what to do!”

“Fair enough.” You sigh softly. “Why’d you use Isa’s phone instead of yours?”

They just point to particular little lump of detritus in the corner, and after a moment you realise it’s the thoroughly broken remnants of their phone. You wince.

“I was texting Axel when it rang and scared Isa. Or I think it did? He smacked it away and that’s when he started wrecking things.”

You rub your hand over their shoulder comfortingly as their voice warbles near the end, clearly still feeling the effects of the day enough to slip into using that old in-joke of a name they’d given Lea when they were young. 

“Did you manage to send it? He’d still be at work wouldn’t he?”

Xion nods, rubbing at their eyes.

“Yeah, they make him keep his phone in a locker when he’s on the floor so he won’t get it till later, but I hoped maybe he was on break. Isa hadn’t- hadn’t started changing yet, so I thought maybe… I don’t know.”

You keep rubbing comforting circles on their back as they lean into you for a hug. You sigh. Okay.

“God, me either kid. Y’know I think this takes the cake for weird shit that’s happened to us. I give up, your brother wins.” You huff, and it nets you a watery giggle from them.

“... What are we gonna do?” They ask quietly after a long moment of silence. You fiddle with the tail end of your braid anxiously.

“Fuck if I know. He can’t stay here, he’s too big and I don’t think you guys are allowed to have pets here anyways. I think he might have to say sayonara to his damage deposit too.” You mutter the last part mostly to yourself as you glance around the wrecked place.

Isa lifts his head curiously, and then rests it in your lap, nudging against your arm insistently. You give in and rub behind one ear, and he groans happily.

What even is your life right now.

“Fuck.” You say again. “Okay, I think I’ve got a plan. Aunt Bruna is on vacation right now, and I’m sure if I just send her a text she won’t mind if I use the farmhouse for a bit. He’ll have plenty of space and there’ll be less prying eyes. We just have to get him there.”

“Will he even fit in your car?” Xion asks, reaching over to rub their hand through the soft fur of his head themself, which Isa seems to appreciate.

“It’s a minivan, if I put the seats down it might be awkward but he’ll fit. I’m more worried about getting there.” You groan. “First things first, Xion pack your things. Overnight bag, anything you can’t go without for a week or two, I don’t know how things are gonna go with… all this.”

Xion nods and then hops to their feet, pattering away towards their room. You sigh again, looking down at the completely unconcerned wolf.

“Should I get some things for you too? I dunno when you’re gonna change back. _ If _ you’re gonna change back.” Dread settles over you at that. “You had _ better _ change back, Isa. I’m not dating a dog.”

He just quirks his head at you, all simple animal. You blink away tears and stand.

There’s the sound of footsteps through the paper thin walls from the hall outside. Isa growls lowly at it, and you fist a hand in his ruff, though you’re not really sure what you could do if he decided to bolt. The steps pass, and you hear one of the neighbors doors open and close without incident.

You release a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding.

Isa’s room is as wrecked as the rest of the house, but you pick through it and bundle up a few spare sets of clothing for him, trying to gather all the necessities as you would a person. The last stop is his cabinet, and then a whole new wave of uncertainty hits you.

Isa pads up and leans lightly against you as you stare into the bathroom cabinet. You look down, and wonder. Should you check? Isa was going to be so mad if this whole transformation thing had fucked up his surgeries.

You shake your head. Later, if it doesn’t wear off in a day or two. You pack his hormones anyways, just in case.

“I swear to god, Isa, if I have to figure out how to change your dose for you like this I’m gonna be pissed. I don’t know nearly enough about your regime for this.” You mutter as you stuff them into a duffel and heft it over one shoulder. Isa pants happily and follows you out.

Xion is waiting by the door, a black backpack with blue flowers embossed in the edges slung over their shoulders and a plush… something dangling from one hand.

You’re pretty sure it’s from a cartoon, with no eyes, long white limbs and a zipper across the mouth. You just think it’s creepy, but Xion loves the thing, so you’re not gonna say shit about it.

“You got clothes, toothbrush, blockers?” You ask, and they nod each time.

“I know how to pack for stuff!” They say with chin jutted up defiantly. You chuckle.

“I know, I know. Just making sure. Ready?”

They nod again.

“Okay.” You take a deep breath, mustering your strength. “Here’s the plan. Xion, you’re gonna scout ahead for us, all the way down to the bottom of the stairs, okay? I’ll be here in the doorway, call out if there’s no one there. Otherwise no sound, okay?”

They nod, determination filling their young features, and take off at a jog down the hall towards the stairs.

God that kid is made of steel, you think. You reach back and rub at Isa’s ears distractedly.

“You’re doing a good job with them, Isa. I know you still feel guilty about when they were little but.. you really are doing amazing.” You murmur, and then sigh. “Remind me to tell you that again later when you can understand me.”

“It’s clear!” You hear them call out, and you nervously pull Isa from the room. Thankfully he follows with no resistance, but you keep a hand fisted in his ruff anyway. You wish you had a leash for him. Even a spare bit of rope would have been nice, but of course the minimalist Isa didn’t have anything like that lying around.

Isa seems to struggle with the stairs a bit, like he’s not sure where which paws should go where, but you make it down without completely tumbling ass over teakettle, so you call it a win. You send Xion across the lobby and into the guest parking lot. Still no one, thank god.

It’s not until you get outside your car that the next issue arises.

Isa refuses to get in.

You push and pull and tempt and beg but he merely chuffs and plants his rear firmly on the ground. He’s much too big to move by force, and you can feel your heart going into palpitations the longer the three of you stand around out in the open.

“Please, Isa.” You beg. “I know you hate this car, but you put it up with it before, and we really, really have to go.”

He doesn’t react, and here you were, literally begging an animal. Jesus.

Xion hums, and the slings their backpack and toy into the passenger seat, before climbing into the van.

“I'm gonna try something.” They say, and then hunkers down in the corner, fully out of sight. There’s a short pause as Isa quirks his head and then a sharp shriek pierces the air. Before you can even react Isa has all but hurled himself into the vehicle, making it rock on it’s wheels alarmingly.

You slam the door behind him, and breathe heavily. You circle around to the front and hop into the drivers seat.

“You okay, Xion?” You ask, looking back. Isa is fully curled around them and apparently sulking, but they just grin and wave at you.

“I’m fine. I don’t think he’s gonna let me go though.”

You sigh.

“Fuck. Okay. We’re gonna be extra careful then, not like this is the first law we’re breaking with this whole excursion. Just- please stay down. Hopefully he’ll stay down with you.”

They nod, and curl further into his fur. He huffs dramatically but doesn’t do much else, for which you’re thankful.

It’s the longest ride to the house that you’ve ever done, including that time you’d beaten up Reno in school because he was being stupid and Aunt Bruna had to come pick you up from suspension, and the whole ride had left you both sitting in stony silence.

It wasn’t till later that you’d learned Bruna hadn’t been angry, she’d been scared. You were still new in their home yet, and she’d been worried the state would deem them unfit as parents.

But now you have a massive wolf who used to be your boyfriend draped across the backseats and a child with him, neither of which are buckled in. You have a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel the entire forty five minutes it takes to get there.

You pull into the long, winding driveway of the farmhouse and park with finality. You open the door and all but collapse onto the ground with sheer relief.

The side door slides open and you hear the crunch of gravel as Xion hops out, followed by several more crunches as Isa follows. A moment later there’s a wet tongue scraping roughly across your face, and you groan.

“Are you ok?” Xion asks. You groan again.

“I’m fine.” You mumble into the dirt.

It’s long past dark now, and after being nudged upright by a softly whining Isa you manage to tromp your way up onto the front porch, fumbling with the lights as you go. You go downstairs and turn the water back on, accidentally tripping the breaker twice as you hit the wrong switches. You hadn’t had to do this since long before you moved out, and the process was a little rusty, but you manage it eventually. You didn’t even have to call Aunt Bruna for help either.

Oh that’s right, you need to tell her you’re here.

You’d left your phone in the car, and on silent you belatedly remember, not wanting any kind of distraction while you’d been driving.

There’s several missed calls from Lea.

Oh no.

There’s voicemails, but you don’t bother checking them, choosing to go straight for just calling him back, settling on the steps to the porch and watching Xion play fetch with Isa and an old frisbee they’d apparently managed to find in the brush.

This was not a situation that could be conveyed over text.

It barely makes the first ring before he picks up.

“Comet what happened Xion sent me a weird text and then no one was answering me and I dropped by Isa’s place and the place is wrecked are you okay where’s Isa-” He immediately rolls into a tumble of words, and you can feel his pacing from here.

“We’re- we’re okay, Lea, I promise. I saw the place, and it’s…. It’s weird, Lea, really weird, but we’re all okay. Nobody’s hurt, anyway.”

“Where are you?” It’s close to a demand, but you can’t fault him there. You’d be scared shitless too.

“At the farmhouse, Aunt Bruna’s out of town and we needed to get away from the city.”

“Okay I’m on my way.” He says, and you can hear his keys jangle even as he says it. You shake your head.

“Lea how long did you work today? Sixteen hours? You shouldn’t be driving. I’ll explain tomorrow.” God you were so tired.

“Hell no.” He scoffs. “I’m fine, I’ll be there soon. Rox I’m going-”

The dial tone sounds, indicating the end of the call, and you frown. Who was Rox?

“Idiot better not get himself killed.” You mutter.

You stay on those steps long after your butt hurts from the hard wooden planks and Xion wanders inside to curl up on a couch. Isa remains in the yard, tussling with himself. You think it’s a stick he’s gnawing on, but you haven’t got the energy to double check. If it’s a bone he’s managed to dig up you’ll just have to give him your mouthwash later when he changes back. 

You cling to the hope that he’ll change back. 

He _ has _ to.

You don’t know how late it is when the flare of headlights washes out the dark yard, but it’s late enough you had fallen into a light doze with your head on your knees. Your neck creaks uncomfortably as you sit up but you ignore it, squinting into the lights as they drive up.

The lights dim and you hear a car door slam, and Lea runs up to pull you into a hug before your vision can finish adjusting to the dark.

“Comet! Are you okay? Where’s Isa?”

You shake your head blearily, not quite awake yet.

“He’s okay, it’s just-”

Isa pads up and leans against you, and in the dark Lea doesn’t register the massive form until it’s almost upon you, causing him to leap back sharply, dragging you with him.

“Holy shi-”

“It’s okay it’s okay!” You grab his arm before he can reach for the switchblade you know he has on him at all times. “This is- this is part of what I was talking about. It’s complicated.”

“Christ that thing is huge.” He wheezes, but though he doesn’t relax, he doesn’t move to attack either. He also keeps himself solidly between you and the dog, which makes Isa nose forward in confusion, and causing Lea to pull you both further back.

Isa whines piteously as Lea tenses further, ears pinning back. After a moment he seems to brighten, turns tail, and vanishes into the dark.

“What the fuck.” Lea breathes, unknowingly echoing your earlier sentiment. “Come on, I’m gonna grab Roxas and we’re getting inside, I don’t trust any animal that big.”

“Lea that’s_ Isa _\- wait who’s Roxas?”

“Doesn’t matter, just a kid- wait what do you mean ‘that’s Isa’?”

“I think it does matter and I said what I said. It’s super weird, but that’s Isa.”

“I am not in the mood for jokes, Comet.” He snaps angrily, and you wrench your hand out of his grip.

“You think I would joke right now? I found Xion hugging him in that mess of an apartment. They said they literally watched him change. He’s wearing Isa’s earrings.” You don’t know if you’d believe you either though, if you’re being honest. The whole story was insanity.

“_ Something _ definitely happened.” Lea allows, but he’s still got a hard look to him. “They’re probably traumatized. But people don’t just- they don’t just turn into animals, Comet!”

“I know! I know.” Your lip wobbles. Goddamit, Comet, don’t fucking cry right now. “But it’s either that or our boyfriend is missing or dead. And.. And I can’t, Lea. I can’t. It was the only thing that made sense.”

As if on cue Isa trots out of the dark, ears perked. He slows as he approaches, something dangling from his mouth. He drops it on the ground close by and then waits at a distance.

You’re not sure if his look is hopeful, or if you’re just projecting onto him hard at this point.

“Is that a rat?” Lea asks, faintly disgusted.

“I think so.”

“I hate rats.”

“I know.”

Lea gives the dog a long look. He glances at you, and then beckons the animal forward. Isa lopes forward with enthusiasm, nuzzling into the offered arm happily. You see Lea feel around Isa’s fuzzy ears, and know the exact moment he finds the earrings as he pauses.

“... I’m not saying you’re right.” He says at length. “But there is definitely something weird going on.”

“On that much we can agree.” You sigh. “Anyway, what’s this about a kid?”

Lea rubs the back of his neck, suddenly awkward.

“Ah, yeah. Sorry I meant to tell you but things got kinda crazy yesterday. You remember that homeless kid I was talking about? The one I’d been seeing near the towers?”

“Yeah? Wait..”

“And you remember that nasty storm that rolled through a couple days ago?”

“You took him in, didn’t you.”

“I mean…”

“_ Lea.” _

“Was I supposed to leave him there?”

“No, no, of course not.” You relent. “But you couldn’t have taken him to a shelter or something?”

Lea shakes his head.

“No way, he freaked out at me just mentioning it. I.. I think he’s running from something, something bad.”

“So what, you’re gonna keep him? Your place isn’t exactly rated for kids, and you’re barely making rent most of the time. How do you expect to keep a kid?” You press a hand to your temple, trying to quell the rising headache. Today had been too long for this.

“I’ll make it work. He needs someone, Comet.”

“Lea this has to be some kind of illegal. Kidnapping or something.”

“Probably.”

You stare at each other for a long moment, Isa’s low panting the only sound to break the quiet night.

“Okay, we’ll figure it out later.” You relent. “Right now I think we all need to be asleep. How old is this kid, anyways.”

“A little older than Xion, but not by much I don’t think.” Lea turns to gesture at the car, encouraging the kid inside to come out.

The passenger door opens with a clunk and a creak, rust falling from the edges, but before you can get a look at him the massive wolf next you starts growling, hackles raised.

“Woah woah woah,” You gasp, reaching down to grasp at the fur- a bad move probably, but thankfully you don’t get your hand bit off and the growling calms just slightly.

The door and the foot half out of it remain absolutely frozen.

Lea glances between them slowly, and then just as slowly crouches down in front of the snarling dog.

“I still don’t know if I buy all this… But if you are Isa, you will _ calm down right now. _ Roxas is a kid and I’m helping him, and no boyfriend of mine is going to hurt him. Capiche?”

There’s a pause as Isa quirks his head, and though you’re not sure if it’s the words or the hard tone of voice Lea had used, but eventually Isa’s ears pin back and he lays flush against the ground, looking up at Lea dolefully.

Lea blinks, seeming somewhat surprised that worked.

“Alright. Roxas!” He calls out, and though hesitant, you finally see the mystery kid as he emerges from the car.

He looks, in a word, scuffed. Unruly blond hair goes in every direction as he levels his hard and cautious gaze on you. He’s wearing some old hand-me-downs you recognise as Lea’s (had he really never thrown those out?). It’s too dark to know for certain, but you think you see the faded remnants of a black eye.

You glance around the motley group, a kid, a man who’s likely been awake going on twenty four hours or more, a dog who should be a man, and you, standing out in the middle of the night like some kind of drug deal gone wrong.

You huff, and decide you’re done.

“You know what, I think I’m good for drama for the day. Xion is in the bedroom and we’re on the pullout, but I think there’s an extra futon or air mattress I can scrounge up for the kid. Can we go inside and sleep now?”

Lea laughs for what feels like the first time in ages.

“God yes, that sounds amazing.”

-

It’s fortunate Lea is there to witness it when Isa changes back, chasing any doubt over exactly what had happened to your missing boyfriend away. Especially considering how badly he needed to sleep and his penchant for sleeping in regardless.

You’re sprawled on the pullout with Lea and the massive dog curled at the foot of the bed. Neither of you had been particularly happy about the arrangement, for all you knew Isa was more wild than not, but Isa had very nearly torn a door off its hinges when you had tried to lock him outside.

It’s a largely sleepless night.

But when the sun rises and with it the unmistakable whine of a dog, both you and Lea sit up and witness the unique sight of a wolf turning into a man.

It’s short, and it looks painful, but when all is said and done the now entirely naked and human Isa merely flops forward onto the sheets and groans softly. The bandages have slid off his face and now rest around his neck, and _ oh thank god _his surgery scars are exactly the way they were before.

“What the fuck.” Comes a voice from the entryway.

“You’re too young for that language- oh shit.” Lea starts and then whips his head around to stare at Roxas standing in the doorway looking white as a ghost. Lea, already pale from what he’d just watched, pales further. “Roxas, uh-”

Roxas turns around and runs.

“Fuck- I-” Lea glances helplessly between the door and Isa, who is starting to sit up slowly, groaning and and stiff.

“He’ll be fine, we’re in the middle of nowhere. Isa? Are you okay?” You crawl across the covers and let him lean against you as he struggles to sit up. The cuts from the glass last night have already healed into thin scars across his face.

“Sore.” He grunts. “Where- Why are we at the farmhouse?” He looks around, bewildered.

“Uh.” You and Lea glance at each other.

“What do you remember?” Lea asks. Isa rubs the sleep from his eyes, dark circles stark underneath them.

“I was at home, I’d called in sick and I was waiting for Xion to get off school and then- Xion! Where’s Xion?” His head jerks up and whips around in search. You hurriedly put a hand against his chest in an attempt to calm him.

“Xion’s fine, they’re probably still sleeping upstairs. It’s okay, Isa.”

“I.. I snapped at- no that can’t be right..” Isa’s brows furrow, and his hand presses into one eye as if to forestall a headache. “There was a sound and I lashed out- I- I don’t remember- is Xion okay? I didn’t hurt them did I?”

“No Isa, I promise you didn’t.” Lea asserts. “I checked them myself last night, they’re fine.”

“A little shaken up maybe, but fine.” You add. Isa’s fingers run across his new scars, and you see him start to scratch at them lightly before Lea gently pulls his hand away.

“Yeah maybe don’t touch those. They look healed but I don’t want to risk it.”

“What healed? What happened?” Isa sounds frustrated, and you and Lea share a moment of uncertainty.

“Isa there’s no good way to say this, because I didn’t believe it either until I saw it…” Lea starts.

“I think you’re a werewolf.” You blurt.

Predictably, Isa levels you with a flat glare.

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s funny that Lea said basically the same thing last night.” You let out a half manic giggle.

He stares long and hard at you, and then see his expression close off into a forced neutrality you haven’t had to see since the early days of your acquaintance as kids.

“I’m going home.” Isa stands. “I thought you two would have known better than to do this sort of thing to me.”

That stings, but you don’t really know what to say to change his mind.

“We’re not- Isa wait!” Lea shuffles to the edge of the bed, but Isa just holds up one hand sharply, stalling him.

“Don’t.” Is all he says, voice flat.

You lean over the edge of the bed and reach for the duffle you’d packed last night, handing it to him. He takes it without a word and strides into the bathroom to put something on.

Lea looks like he’s about to cry. He draws his knees up to his chest and you lean against him in support.

Neither of you speak until Isa emerges. The three of you stand and stare at each other in grim silence.

You know what Isa expects now, for you to rescind your ‘prank’ and apologize, and you know if you don’t he’s likely to simply walk away and that will be it. And if this had actually been a prank he would be well within his rights to do that- he had problems with being tricked like that and you knew it- but you just didn’t know what to tell him otherwise.

You’re interrupted by shouting from another part of the house. All three of you sweep out into the hall and towards the living area, heedless of your previous tension. You’re clad in PJ’s and Lea only in a pair of boxers.

You emerge into the living area to find Xion crouched on the floor, sobbing heavily, and Roxas curled around them in a tight hug. He looks up as you enter, leveling you with a cold glare that’s made all the sharper by his gaunt features.

“Who are you? What did you do?” Isa demands sharply as he strides forward. Xion jerks up at the sound of his voice.

“Isa!” They cry. “Y-you’re okay!” Roxas releases them as they pull back, and Xion all but leaps into Isa’s arms, still sobbing.

“I was s-so scared!” Their voice is muffled in his jacket, but understandable. “You turned into a _ dog _ and I didn’t know if you were ever gonna be _ you _ again and then you wrecked the house and you didn’t hurt me but- but for a _ second _\- For a second I th-thought-”

Isa takes one moment to look at you and Lea, still hovering in the doorway. His face is unreadable, and then he crouches to embrace Xion more fully.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that again. I broke my promise.”

Xion shakes their head roughly.

“Y-you didn’t, it’s just… I was scared. You didn’t hurt me.”

“Be that as it may.” Isa pets their hair softly. “I will make it up to you. And make sure it never happens again.”

Oh you can see the gears turning in his head at that statement and you don’t like it one bit.

Roxas stands from the floor, still glaring but mostly at Isa now. Talking with Isa will have to wait.

“I’m gonna make breakfast.” You decide, turning tail towards the kitchen. You were a coward, what can you say. The pad of feet tells you Lea is right behind you, and a moment later you hear Roxas following as well.

At least you weren’t the only coward here.

You busy yourself putting together pancakes while Roxas takes a seat at the table and Lea attempts to help. He grabs the salt twice, forgets how many eggs he’d thrown in, and tries to balance two bowls while joking with Roxas before you unceremoniously forbid him from helping anymore.

He pouts at you as he goes though.

“I don’t want to leave you with all the work though-”

“You’re a hazard at this point.” You huff, but there’s no heat in it. “Let me guess, didn’t think to bring your add meds last night?”

“To be fair I had bigger things on my mind.”

You concede that one.

“Alright. You’re still a hazard though, so git.” You nudge him with one elbow and he grins apologetically.

You lean up to give him a quick kiss before shoving him towards the table and returning to the pancakes.

“Gross.” You hear Roxas grump.

“Better get used to it, because me and Comet are downright clingy.” Lea chuckles.

“What about, uh..” The kid stalls. Christ Lea, had you not even told him your names?

“He’s a ‘behind closed doors’ type.” Lea supplies. 

“Wish you’d closed the door this morning.” The grumble is so quiet you barely catch it, but catch it you do, and you nearly flip a pancake into the wall as you try to stifle your giggles.

“Yeah okay that was our bad, but Xion is usually in bed till at least noon if we let them so- wait, what were you doing coming in anyways?” 

There’s an awkward pause.

“... I was looking for the bathroom.”

You bite the inside of your cheek so hard you taste blood. Oh the poor kid. Suddenly wrapped up in all this werewolf stuff that absolutely no one would believe if he told them.. All because he needed to pee.

“..... That’s rough buddy.”

“Tell me about it.” You can practically hear him roll his eyes.

“Alright serve up.” You call. “I’m gonna go get Isa and Xion.” And hope beyond hope they were done talking. You didn’t want to interrupt that conversation at all.

Thankfully when you find them they’re cuddling on the outside patio lounge, quietly watching the sun rise.

You take a brief moment to appreciate the soft glow lighting up Isa’s features, making him appear ethereal and beautiful in the dawn light.

“Hey, breakfast.” You call quietly, trying not to disturb the serenity of the scene. Xion looks up with a smile.

“Oh good, I’m starving.” They announce, hopping up and jogging inside. Isa stays seated though, and after a moment you take Xion’s vacated seat.

“Are you okay?”

Isa scoffs.

“Okay, stupid question. How are you holding up?” You rephrase.

He takes a long, deep breath, and then lets it out just a slowly.

“I talked with Xion. They.. They said they saw it, described it. I know they’re not lying to me. I’m a werewolf.” He states it with uncanny stoicness. “I don’t know what to do with that information yet.”

“We’ll figure it out.” You assure, reaching out to hold his hand. He leans against you.

“I’m sorry for my reaction this morning.” He says, and you laugh.

“Dude I don’t know if I would have believed us either. Who the fuck actually beleives werewolves exist?” 

“Still, you’d had a very trying night and my reaction was unhelpful.”

“We could have tried to find a better way to explain it, so I’m sorry too.”

“I don’t know if there _ is _ a good way to explain that.”

“So we’re in agreement that the whole situation is batshit and no one is at fault?” You nudge him playfully, and are rewarded with a smile.

“I suppose.”

“Alright, come on before the human vacuum cleaners in there eat all the pancakes.” You stand, tugging on his arm as you go. He huffs and then stands.

“Of course, we cannot let that happen.”

-

It takes some trial and error, and some serious negotiation, but over time the three of you manage this new intrusion in your lives.

You return to your own places, you to your shitty hole in the wall apartment, Isa home with Xion, and Lea with Roxas.

The stray you’d been feeding seems more skittish than usual the next day. You wonder if it’s because you broke your routine or if he can smell Isa on you or something.

All of you pitch in cleaning Isa’s destroyed home, though Roxas and Xion aren’t allowed in until you get all the glass cleaned up, and even then shoes are mandatory from then on. The place is a little more bare now, and the gouges in the floor and walls are going to be a bitch to fix later, but at least the place is liveable again.

You start looking into abandonment laws and the legality of Lea taking Roxas on with him, and it’s slow going. There seemed to be an ever present risk of his original parents or guardians trying to get him back, legally or otherwise, and given Roxas refused to talk about it despite Lea’s constant asking none of you want to risk it.

But keeping him without informing anyone is most definitely kidnapping, which could very much get all of you in trouble if things go exceptionally badly. That’s not even getting to the other things any child needs; school, hobbies, friends, vaccines, and so much more it makes your head spin.

Lea’s been doing admirably with him, despite all that, pulling himself and his life together in a way he hadn’t before. It makes you proud of him if you’re being honest, finding his place (though still ratty) at least clean and kempt, aside from an ever growing stack of legal paperwork as the three of you try to figure out how best to deal with Roxas’ situation.

You’re 95% sure he’s taking his meds way more consistently now. Before there were more days than not where he just didn’t bother, for one reason or another, but with all the things he has to pay attention to now, you think he’s realizing how much the clarity helps, even in his day to day life. 

Roxas himself still tells you precious little about where he came from aside from that he wants to stay here with Lea. You’re glad you’re all on the same page, but you really wish he’d tell you anything at all of his past.

Isa helps too, far better at reading the mountains of legaleze than either of you, but unfortunately even his day to day is affected by his new transformation. Loud noises and scents affect him much more strongly than before, and pure silver leaves him with unfortunate rashes. You and Lea share a laugh later that you’re glad you hadn’t sprung for the sterling silver versions of Isa’s earrings. He offers to help pay for a lawyer, but though you and Lea know he has some money left from his parents inheritance, you also know he’s trying to make it stretch as far as he can to care for Xion. A large chunk had already gone into healthcare and surgery costs. The three of you agree that it’s an option, but perhaps one saved for a last resort. Lawyers were expensive.

And sure enough a month later Isa turns again. Thankfully the three of you had assumed that part of the myth at least must be true, considering it had been the full moon last time (you’d checked after), and you bundled your little group off to the farmhouse again. Aunt Bruna was home now, but you’d made your excuses and your group had stayed in the basement playing games with an increasingly irritable and cooped up wolf until Bruna had gone to bed, at which point you’d let him outside to run.

You think he seems a little more aware that time, but perhaps it’s just wishful thinking. You don’t know how long you can keep this up with Aunt Bruna either, but in true young adult style, you decide that’s future you’s problem.

Isa runs and tussles until he’s exhausted, even pulling you and Lea into some play despite your reservations. Seeing Isa, in a different form though he was, so full of energy and without reservations is… odd. He’s still Isa though, underneath it all. He still doesn’t like people watching him or doing anything without knowing exactly how to do it perfectly. He’s still a little jealous and a lot protective. And he still has that flat, impatient stare down to a T. Somehow. 

Unfortunately his changes bring with them a _ lot _ of extra energy, and since someone needs to be awake to let him in after he’s run himself ragged, so as to avoid Bruna’s suspicions, it means all of you end up some kind of exhausted the next morning. 

Still, it works. Mostly. 

You take food out for the stray near your apartment stray again, spotting the black fur trying to hide just around the corner and setting the bowls not too far from your door. It was one of the few benefits of having a ground floor apartment. Did it outweigh the bi-monthly asshole trying to climb in your window? Eh. But still, silver linings. It hadn’t happened in a few months at least.

“Hey boy.” You call out, whistling softly.

You expect your stray to be skittish again after you get back , but this time it’s the opposite, nosing at you insistently, nearly ignoring the offered food entirely.

“Woah woah.” You laugh. “You’re friendly today.” 

The dog gives a strange grunt, apparently done with his sniff test, ears twitching every which way. He moves past you and starts to shove his way into the door of your apartment. He paws at the handle and apparently the latch hadn’t caught because it swings open easily.

“Woah hold up!” You leap forward and try to hold the door closed, but to no avail. The large dog shoves his way in, bounding into the center of the room and then freezing solid.

He stands there, stock still, for a full minute, as you edge into your home leaving the door open behind you. You don’t want to grab him, knowing he’s a stray and probably never trained or socialized properly, but you need to get him out.

As much as you would have loved to, you weren’t allowed to have pets, and to be quite frank, he was probably covered in pests.

His ears twitch back towards you, and he whines, crouching low. After a moment he bolts out the door and vanishes, food in the bowls forgotten.

Something about the whole thing twigs as odd, but you can’t quite put your finger on what.

Isa comes over later, having apparently been ‘kicked out’ of the house so Roxas and Xion could play uninterrupted. Most people would have baulked at leaving a pair of eleven-ish year olds to their own devices, but if you were being honest Xion was probably more responsible than _ you _ were. Isa was still on the fence around Roxas, so he wasn’t going to stay long, but he trusted Xion not to burn the place down if he went out for an hour to have dinner with you.

Lea was working again, unfortunately, the ridiculous hours of his job keeping him away. You wish the three of you could have a proper date again, but the timing just hadn’t been working lately.

When Isa comes up though his eyes narrow and he casts his head side to side as if searching for something.

“Everything okay?” You ask curiously, fetching plates from the cabinet. Isa frowns.

“Was there someone here?” He asks. His tone isn’t angry, if anything he almost sounds confused.

You shake you head.

“No? I haven’t had anyone over in ages actually. Aerith is busy with seeding season and Leon’s been busy with Yuffie.” You pause. “Though that stray I’ve been feeding managed to get in earlier. I guess the door didn’t latch when I shut it.”

Isa frowns further.

“It doesn’t smell like a dog…” He murmurs, but doesn’t pursue the subject further. You share a nice dinner and a quick makeout session before he has to go and make sure the kids aren’t getting in too much trouble.

Two months later Bruna confronts you and you have to come clean. Somehow and with a demonstration she believes you, and you no longer have to keep making up excuses to visit once a month. She shows you basically a massive doggy door on the attached garage so Isa can come and go as he pleases without letting other animals have free reign, and you and Lea finally get to sleep through the night. 

The three of you go for boba the next day in celebration. Isa has dark circles beneath his eyes, but he insists you all go out for once as a treat. The past few months have been too busy to appreciate the little things like this and it’s high past time you all need to unwind together. 

“You know what’s funny? I think Bruna took it better than I did.” Lea comments. He takes along draw if his drink, and then nearly chokes as the little balls hit the back of his throat faster than he expected. Isa pats his back with a light laugh. 

“We should have known better than to keep it from her really, she has always been entirely unflappable.” Isa says. You chuckle. 

“It’s true. Remember when I snuck you guys in and she caught us making out under the patio? All she did was throw some condoms at us and told us my room was cleaner.” You laugh at the memory, as does Lea. Isa flushes, but you can see the amused grin tugging at the edge of his lips. 

“Or the time Lea tried making us all breakfast as a surprise and nearly burnt the place down? She just picked him up and took over, didn’t even blink.” Isa adds, causing Lea to flush now. 

“Hey, I was like twelve okay!”

You share a laugh. God you missed being able to just.. Hang out and laugh together, all three of you.

Isa’s head twitches, brows furrowed, his gaze drawn towards a shaded bench barely visible from the walkway. There’s a kid on it, slouching but gazing steadily towards your group. His clothes are ragged and clearly much too big for him, black hair shoved under a cap and hazel eyes so light they look almost gold.

He looks familiar, but you’re not sure from where.

You’re startled out of your reverie when Isa _ growls _.

“Isa what the fuck.” Lea gripes, having startled at the sound and spilling part of his drink on his shirt. Isa blinks, like he hadn’t realized he’d even bared his teeth (are they suddenly sharper? They look sharper) and shakes his head, pulling out a napkin and helping him clean up.

When you look back towards the bench the boy is gone.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Isa is flushing slightly, embarrassed. Lea huffs.

“The dog thing getting you even outside the full moon, huh?” He grins. “Should I scratch behind your ears too?”

“I’ll start pissing on my territory too if you keep that up.” Isa fires backs, and then sobers. “I don’t- it was just a random child but…. Something about his smell made me feel- I don’t know. Possessive. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Weird, but then this whole situation is.” You allow. “Maybe less growling in public though. Either that or you let us use that ‘You’re a furry’ excuse for you.”

“Absolutely not.” Isa grumps. 

“Hey now, nothing wrong with furries.” Lea teases, throwing an arm over Isa’s shoulders. Isa elbows him lightly.

“I never said there was, merely that I am not one, werewolf or not.”

“I think that makes you a furry kind of by virtue of just.. Being.” You say, wide grin on your face. Isa huffs and stalks ahead.

Though not so far that you and Lea can’t catch up.

When you get home you spot your stray waiting in the alley, not quite hidden in the deepening shadows.

You pause, and suddenly you feel something like a realisation.

The strangeness, Isa reacting to…

You _ had _ closed the door.

You set the bowls of food outside your door and wait. Nothing happens though, and an hour later you sigh. It had been like this when the stray had first started coming around, too scared to come near while you were there, but it hadn’t been like that in months.

You think you know what changed.

Eventually you have to call it quits, the sun all but set and you with work tomorrow. You stand, but pause before disappearing inside.

“You should let me know if you need more, okay? You always look so hungry.” You call out into the dark, where you’ve been able to see those gold eyes watching. You pause uncertainly.

“Goodnight.” Is all you can think to offer, and then you go to bed.

The next day you end up at Lea’s for dinner, since he has the day off for once. Isa is already there with Xion when you arrive, having gotten off work late. 

Roxas sets out tableware as Lea does the finishing flourishes on the food, and you settle into the stiff wooden chair at the table with a moan, grateful to finally be off your feet. 

“How was work?” Lea asks, and you shrug. 

“Same as always. I think Cid’s finally given up on ribbing me over running out.”

“Jeez took him long enough. It was an actual emergency and everything.”

“Yeah but I couldn’t exactly tell him that. He knew I was lying the moment I told him you were sick somehow. Mostly I’m just happy he didn’t push it and let me keep my job.”

“It is fortunate.” Isa agreed, taking a bowl of steamed vegetables from Lea and setting them on the table. Lea follows soon after with burgers and the lot of you dig in. 

Roxas asks Xion about school, and their friends, and it’s painfully obvious he’s sort of vicariously living through her stories of the day. You spare a glance at Lea, who shakes his head. 

No luck in getting him to open up then, or even getting out of the house. The three of you are attempting your best to try and homeschool Roxas until you can figure out the best way to deal with his situation, but it’s clear he needs more friends and activities than just Xion and playing Lea’s old video games. 

Somehow, it makes you think of someone else. 

“Hey…” You gnaw on the end of your fork, not entirely sure how to bring this up. “If Isa is a werewolf… that means there’s other werewolves out there too, right?”

Lea pauses, and then sets his food down deliberately. 

“Huh. I guess so.” Is all he says. Despite being nearly five months into this weird new normal, somehow that’s the first you’ve really considered there might be others. 

“There’s certainly the one that turned me at least, or so I assume, since he looked human at the time.” Isa says bluntly. “But given he has yet to make an appearance since, I don’t believe he’s still in the area.”

“How would you know?” Lea asks. Isa just levels him with a flat stare. 

“I would.” Is his only answer.

“Can you turn outside of the full moon?” You ask, turning the subject again. Isa blinks, confused at the question. 

“I haven’t tried.” He says slowly. “While my memory and humanity are becoming clearer over time, I do not want to risk getting stuck as a wolf. I have responsibilities.”

“Sorry, I know-“ okay, that had probably been a little insensitive to ask of a guy raising his kid sibling on his own, but you didn’t have anyone else to ask. “It’s just, there’s been this stray I’ve been feeding-“

“The one that got into your apartment?” Lea asks, having heard the story. Isa leans back. 

“The one that didn’t smell like dog.” He puts a hand to his mouth thoughtfully. “And not quite human, when I smelled him near the park.”

“That was him?” That was a surprise to you. Isa nods. 

“I’d thought it was odd, but I wasn’t sure at the time. Since he hasn’t attempted to breach your home since, and seemed quite distressed when he did the first time, I was going to let the matter lie.”

“Wait distressed? Distressed how?” You press. He shrugs.

“I don’t know. Stress and fear have a… tart? Scent. It’s very distinct and tends to linger.” He explains. “Like if you left a batch of raspberries on the counter too long, and they started to ferment.”

“Gross.” Lea makes a face.

“Yeah can you not talk about that while we’re eating?” Roxas pipes in from where he and Xion have been talking, a scowl on his face.

“My apologies.” Isa bows his head deferentially to Roxas, who just shrugs and turns back to Xion. Xion just gives a small laugh at the exchange.

“So either he was distressed because he realised he was b&e’ing..” Lea starts.

“Or he was already distressed and trying to get in was a symptom of that.” You finish, gnawing on your lip in worry.

“I’m gonna try and talk to him tomorrow. I tried, kinda, last night but I want to actually sit down and talk to him. I felt bad when it was just a stray, now that I’m pretty sure it’s a _ kid _…”

“How do you know it’s a kid?” Lea glances at you, curious.

“He’s less than half the size of Isa, which is why I thought he was just a regular dog that maybe had some wolf mixed in somewhere in the line. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Isa gets _ huge _ on the full moon.”

“What no, I definitely haven’t noticed him trying to crush my ribcage trying to sleep on me once a month.” Lea snorts. “Or nearly tearing my arms off when he wants to play tug of war.”

“I was trying to be gentle…” Isa mutters, making you guffaw loudly.

You go home with a plan in mind.

The stray doesn’t show though.

It’s okay, you tell yourself. You’d had a later shift than usual and perhaps he’d stopped by while you weren’t home. Or he had other things to do. It does little to allay your worry though.

The next day is the same.

And the next.

By the fifth day you’re ready to tear down your ratty wallpaper you’re so full of nervous energy. You pace your tiny kitchen like a caged animal while Isa, the almost actual animal, sits on the countertop calmly nearby.

“What if something happened?” You worry aloud. “I think he spends a lot of his time as a dog, what if he’s been impounded? What if it’s one of those kill shelters that’s nabbed him? Or he got hit by a car?”

“Comet.” Isa says with a steady voice. “Calm down.”

“I _ can’t _.” You stress. “I had the chance to help him and what if it’s too late?”

Isa sighs and hops down from the ledge, pulling you in for a hug. The touch leeches the tightness from your shoulders almost instantly, apparently you’d been very much in need of a hug.

“I don’t have work tomorrow and the full moon is in two days.” He starts, and you wonder where he’s going with this. “If you like, I can attempt to transform early. I have better senses than most people, but as a wolf I could probably track him down for you. I ask only that you and Lea take care of Xion while I am.. Indisposed, in case I cannot change back at will.”

Your eyes water.

“You’d do that for me?”

He gives you a soft smile.

“Of course.”

Plans still need to be made, of course. Lea, Xion, and Roxas are all updated on the plan and each give their approval. Xion especially is very gung-ho about the idea, citing that ‘no one should have to not have a home! Not Roxas and not this wolf boy either!’

So the five of you gather in one of the small parks nearby. It’s nearly dark and the place in empty, and you’re clustered in one of the clusters of trees for as much shielding from whatever passing eyes might be left at this time of night.

“I feel ridiculous.” Isa says, flushing darkly as he strips off his shirt. He hands it to Lea who stuffs in into a mostly empty backpack.

“Well, hopefully it’s not for long.” You console. “It’ll either work and you’ll be covered in fur, or it won’t and you can redress.”

“We should hurry though.” Roxas says, antsy. “We look like we’re doing a drug deal and if anyone looks outside right now they might call the cops on us.”

“I know that but how do you know that?” Lea asks, somewhat incredulous. Roxas just shrugs.

Isa finishes stripping, leaving only his underwear on.

“Not gonna..?” Lea gestures. Isa’s responding glare is ice cold.

“No. I will replace them later.” 

You suppose that’s fair. Even when you’ve taken him to the farmhouse for full moons he won’t entirely strip unless it’s just the three of you. You can’t blame him for not wanting to do it in what was essentially public.

“You ready?” Xion asks, suddenly nervous. They’d been very enthusiastic earlier, so you’re not sure where the sudden nerves come from. Isa gestures them forward with a fond look.

“Xion.” He takes their face in his hands. “At worst I will be gone a few days. And I will still be around, just.. Fuzzier, just like on the moons. Everything will be okay.”

They nod.

“Yeah. Yeah. And you’ll find that other boy.”

“I will.” He promises, and then releases them. They step back to the rest of the group, and Isa takes a deep breath.

“Okay.”

For a moment there is silence save for the chirp of insects coming out in the night air.

And then the change begins.

-

Isa isn’t sure what to do at first, and eventually just settles for thinking about how the change felt during the moons, how the wind felt in his fur, how everything became somehow both far sharper and less distinct to his canine senses. He felt the scrabble of claws on tile, the pads of paws in soft dirt and grass. 

Before he even realises it, he’s started to change, and he lets it sweep him up into its flow. It’s not as painful as it used to be, now that he’s aware of what’s happening to him. His ears pull back and fur sprouts across his skin quickly. He leans forward as his posture changes, legs lengthening and tail sprouting from behind, shredding his remaining clothing.

He doesn’t completely fall to all fours this time though. He shakes his fur out, confused but not concerned, thoughts more emotion than word, but having become clearer with every shift.

He blinks down at his gathered family, looking up at him with a variety of faces.

“That’s not what happened before why is he like that?” Xion frets. Isa frowns to himself, leaning down to muzzle them affectionately.

_ Nosad, I’mhere _

“I dunno.” Comet bites their lip, arms crossed. “Is it because it’s not the full moon?”

“Looks a lot more like the werewolves you see on tv though.” Lea comments. “Like.. well, like a wolf man.”

Isa huffs. Of course he is, Lea. What did you think he was?

“Can we focus? It’s getting cold.” The last member of the group grumps. Isa keeps his distance from that one. That one still doesn’t like him much. He doesn’t understand why.

“I told you you could stay home if you wanted, Rox.” Lea sighs. “It’s probably gonna be a long night even with Isa’s help.”

“No way, I’m gonna look too.” The kid puffs out his chest angrily.

“I’m not sure if we can like this, though.” Comet is still chewing on their lip. Isa reaches down with a large, furry hand, and paws at their face.

_ Stopthat. Goingtohurtlater _

“Stp.” He tries to say, but though he remembers being human, the finer details of the art seem elusive. It’s more than he’s managed on previous moons though.

Comet jerks back with a startled laugh at the action, to which Isa merely cocks his head, not sure what’s funny.

“You need to be more wolfy, Isa.” It’s Xion, drawing his attention back to them. “You’re only part way right now. You need to be all wolf so no one gets scared seeing you.”

“Considering how big he is even full wolf I don’t know about people not getting scared, but at least then we can pretend he’s just one of those supermassive dog breeds. It’s less explaining then… this.” Lea admits.

Isa isn’t sure he follows, but they want him to be full wolf? He can do that.

He slides the rest of the way into wolf with ease. He’s closer to eye level with them now, and his tail wags happily as Comet smiles at him.

“Okay good. How are you feeling?”

_ Good? Packhere! Lotsofroom gonow? _

He doesn’t know how to convey that, so he wags his tail again.

“Well he seems good?” Lea rubs the back of his head. Isa grunts. Why is he rubbing _ his _ head? He should rub Isa’s instead, like a good mate.

“Alright let’s get this party started then. Isa?” Comet draws his attention. “Do you remember how that boy smelled? The one we were talking about that got into my house that one time?”

_ Fearsadhungrywanttohelp _

He nods. It’s faint, but he remembers the vicious tang of the boys smell.

“Okay. Me and Isa are the only one’s who’ve seen or smelled this kid, so we’re doing a group system. Isa will be with Lea and Xion, Roxas you’re with me.”

Isa trots off without waiting further, ears perked and senses alert. There’s no sign of the boy around here, but he wants to keep peeled just in case.

“Isa- ah jeez, wait up you big mulligan.” Lea grumbles, jogging after him, Xion following at a near run.

_ Keepup! _ He thinks to himself, letting his tail wag just once before returning to his task. He would have delighted in a round of chase, the change bringing with it a burst of energy he longs to use, but he has a mission, and he refuses to deviate from it.

It isn’t long before Xion starts flagging. Lea carries them for a bit, but they’re a bit big for extended carrying these days, and eventually they’re put onto Isa’s back. 

Lea yawns loudly.

“C’mon bud, it’s nearly 4am and we’ve canvased this section pretty clean. I think we should call it a night.”

Isa’s not tired, but Xion has been conked out on his back for several hours now, and that can’t be good for a young pup, so he allows Lea to lead him back to Comet’s apartment, where they had agreed to meet.

Comet and Roxas are already there, and Comet puts their phone away as they see him and Lea approach. The group wanders inside, and though it’s tight quarters, there is a couch pullout and some air mattresses already prepared on the floor for them.

“Thanks for trying guys.” Comet says, exhaustion leaking into every syllable. Lea pats their back in consolation.

“We can always try again later.” He says, picking up Xion from Isa’s broad back and setting them on the pullout. Comet shuffles Roxas in next to them before sitting heavily on one of the air mattresses.

“Yeah.” They mumble, almost asleep sitting up. “You gonna change back Isa?”

He cocks his head, confused. He can’t do that, the hunt isn’t done yet. The humans need their rest, but _ he _ still has a job to do.

“I guess not. Looks like we’re babysitting the next couple days.” Lea sighs. “Ah well, could be worse.”

“We knew it was a possibility.” Comet says, slumping over into the pillows. “Now get over here and cuddle me so we can sleep.”

“You just like me for my space heater-ness.”

“Damn straight.”

“Please, no one here is straight. Except maybe Roxas but only because he hasn’t told me one way or the other yet.”

“Oh my god just go to sleep, I’m tired.”

“Fine, fine. Love you.”

“Love you too, asshole.”

Isa waits until their breathing evens out into the long, slow breaths of sleep, and then makes his way to and out the door.

Thumbs are great. It really is a blessing he still has them if he wants to as a wolf, even if they’re not exactly the same.

No longer having to limit himself to the pace of much slower people, Isa makes much better time scouring the city. He avoids people, knowing it will only bring trouble, but in this late hour there are only the last call drunkards heading home and the homeless to worry about. Neither he has much concern for seeing him. He stays away from any 24hour stores and anyone who looks like they’re coming off the night shift. His human side may be fuzzy like this, but logic was always his strong suit, and he knows those people are more aware, and more likely to cause him trouble.

He catches the scent exactly once, near the bridge, tracks it to a difficult to reach hole in the side of the reinforced walls of the river. There’s signs of someone living here, and the cubs smell is strong, but not present.

Isa considers waiting, but the sun is rising into the sky now. He doesn’t expect his packmates to be up quite yet, but the longer he waits the more likely it is someone will notice him.

He makes it back without notice for the most part, aside one startled man who’s far too calculating stare follows him until he’s well out of sight. He slips into the apartment and curls up next to Lea’s legs, draping his tail over him and Comet both.

He’s lulled into a doze, eventually, but not a very deep one. He’s woken an hour or two later when Xion stirs, Roxas following in their wake. They peer over the edge of the pullout, smiling down at Isa.

“Goodmorning.” They say quietly, mindful of the still sleeping bodies. Isa lets his tongue loll happily, moving his head up so he can lick their cheek.

“Afternoon, I think.” Roxas comments, looking at the blinking display on the microwave. “I’m hungry.”

“Me too.” Xion agrees. “C’mon, let’s see what Comet has in the fridge.”

Comet mumbles something at their name but doesn’t rise. Lea is stone dead asleep and doesn’t even twitch.

Lea and Comet do eventually rise, though it’s zombielike at best. Lea especially grumbles.

“Man what happened to my teenage years? I used to be able to pull all-nighters no problem.”

“You say that but we all know you were just as much a wreck as the rest of us during finals week, you just hid it better.” Comet remarks. Lea pokes out his tongue childishly.

Isa nods. He remembers that. More specifically he remembers Lea privately lamenting that coffee didn’t actually do what it was supposed to. He’d wanted the magic bean juice to help keep him awake dammit, not make him more sleepy!

Turned out that was the ADD fucking with him once more.

He should have listened to Isa much earlier, really.

Isa lounges around the _ fartoosmall _ apartment with his pack, putting up with it mostly for the sake of staying near his family for a bit. He’s missed them. The day passes with a fugue over most of the residents, exhausted from the previous night. Roxas and Xion play through a number of Comets video games, wiling away the day and generally resting.

When Comet tries to wrangle everyone together to try again though, he pushes them back down onto the couch insistently.

“Isa, what are you-?” They ask, confused at first, but growing angry as he pushes them down twice, and then thrice more.

“I don’t think he wants us to go out.” Lea comments. Comet slaps the arm of the couch with irritation.

“I am searching for this kid, Isa!”

He considers.

_ Wanttohelp. _ He understands. But he can do more without pulling a group along with him. He turns and pads outside. The rest of the group follows him out.

“Okay, same formation, Isa will-” Comet starts, cut off when Isa hip checks them just hard enough to almost topple them over.

“Dude seriously, what is up with you?” Lea asks. Xion has a look on their face both confused and considering.

Isa noses each member of his pack closer together, especially gentle with Roxas, who doesn’t trust him, and Xion, wary of hurting them in any way.

Lea and Comet are still confused, but Xion suddenly brightens.

“You want us to stay together?” They ask, and Isa can’t help but let out a small yip, tail wagging.

“But Isa-” Comet tries to protest, but Isa just huffs and nudges them with his nose.

And then he turns and trots away into the deep shadows of dusk.

The nook is empty, just like last time, though it’s occupant had been here at least once in the intervening time, judging by the scent. Isa settles in to wait. 

It’s a long wait, if he’d been human he might have struggled with boredom, but Isa had always been goal oriented, and adding the single minded dedication of the wolf meant he sat nearly without moving, ears perked and senses on alert for several hours. 

It’s late in the afternoon when he senses movement, a black and mangy ball of fur hiding up the way, watching his former resting place. 

He was upwind, clearly a deliberate choice to keep the stranger from catching on to his presence. It was only by chance and keen senses that Isa had caught the slight movement.

He waits, the only movement the idle swishing of his tail. The hole in the wall isn’t huge and he barely fits, but he feels no constriction as he waits patiently.

The stranger moves.

_ ‘I know you see me.’ _

_ Yeswaiting. _ Isa perks at the new interaction, keeping his unblinking stare on the cub.

_ ‘Ah fuck, you’re new. Normally instincts keep new guys away from a claimed space unless they’re desperate.’ _ The boy grumbles. Isa doesn’t know what he means by most of that.

_ New! Yesnew. Comehomenow. _

_ ‘Why?’ _ The smaller wolf cocks his head. He edges closer to the nook, looking up at Isa lounging in his space.

_ Favouredhumanworry. Comehome. _

_ ‘Favoured…? The chick who leaves the dog food out?’ _

_ Didn’tknow wantedtohelp. _ Isa ducks his head a little. Even as a wolf dog food held little appeal to him and he could only assume it was the same for the cub. The cub merely shakes his ruff in something approximating a shrug.

_ ‘Food I didn’t have to steal. Sometimes there was leftovers too.’ _

_ Realfood! Comehome! _Isa hops to his feet, tail wagging in slowly strong sweeps behind him. The boy growls lowly and jerks back though.

_ ‘No way! This is a trap.’ _

Isa quirks his head.

_ No. Worried. _ It was the clearest sentence he’d managed so far. The boy snorts.

_ ‘Whatever. I don’t need a pack.’ _

Isa releases a huff, fed up with the cubs reluctance. He hops down from the nook, landing firmly before the smaller wolf.

_ ‘What are you-’ _ the boy doesn’t have time to finish, as Isa grabs him by the ruff with his teeth, hefting the smaller wolf with an ease that is thoroughly unfair. The kid puts up a token struggle but quickly realises he’s not going anywhere at the moment, and falls limp in Isa’s jaws.

Isa isn’t quite as inconspicuous this time, but he still manages to get back to Comet’s apartment without alerting anyone too important, and runs into an issue when no one else is back yet and the door is shut.

_ ‘Wow you really don’t know anything do you. I’m amazed you even know how to talk.’ _ The cub grumps, and Isa gives just the slightest shake of his head in reprimand.

Perhaps if he just….

His center of gravity shifts as he finds himself on two feet once more, though still covered in fur and most certainly not human. 

More importantly, he has hands again.

He drops the cub into one arm and shoves his way into the apartment. The frame splinters as the lock he hadn’t realised was engaged shatters under his strength. He blinks down at his clawed hands, having not even truly felt the resistance of it before it had fallen apart in his hands.

_ ‘Yeah you’re strong now, or did you miss that memo? God I’m gonna have to stick around just to make sure you don’t accidentally kill the food lady, aren’t I?” _The cub continues to gripe, dangling from Isa’s grip. Isa growls lowly.

_ Notlady stopthat. _

‘_ I’m not a mind reader, no one told me!’ _ The cub yelps, sounding both angry and afraid. It’s a strange reaction, but Isa doesn’t have the wherewithal to dissect it at the moment. He shuffles into the kitchen, nosing around the mostly empty cabinets for something to eat while he waits.

_ ‘...boy then?’ _ The cub speaks almost hesitantly. Isa chuffs.

_ Favouredhuman? No. notboynotgirl. _

The cubs tail wags once in understanding.

_ ‘They’re.. They’re nice enough. I guess.’ _

_ Yes. _ Isa agrees. He loves them very much. Lea had helped him realise he was a boy in the first place, Comet had helped him have the courage to be himself the way he truly wanted. They were both his world.

Especially those first few months after his parents..

He shakes himself. He has a cub and it’s dinner time. He won’t be dwelling on old wounds today.

“What the fu-” A tall redhead stands in the half destroyed doorway, mouth agape, though there are figures just behind him as well.

Isa hears the cub strangle a growl, clearly feeling out of his element but not wanting to risk Isa’s ire while he’s still holding him.

“Oh my god you found him!” Comet pushes past Lea and rushes forward before coming to a sudden stop a few feet away.

“Hey.” They say, like they’re not sure what to say. “Um.. Isa could you put him down?”

_ Goingtorun? _ Isa asks quizzically.

The cub shakes his head and then

Shifts

And lands sturdily on two feet as Isa drops him.

“Hi.” He says, voice croaking like he hasn’t used it much. “‘M Vanitas.”

“Name’s Comet, they/them. It’s nice to meet you properly Vanitas.” They greet with a wide smile. “Sorry about the kidnapping, I swear that wasn’t the intent. You want to stay for dinner?”

Isa is sure the smell of salt in the air couldn’t possibly be the tears welling in Vanitas’ eyes. Obviously.

“Sure.”

-

You try to take Vanitas to Bruna’s. 

You don’t want to leave him on the street, but your apartment allows neither pets nor kids, Lea is already toeing several lines with Roxas, and Isa doesn’t have any spare room. It just makes sense. 

Vanitas disagrees. 

He vanishes on you at some point, causing you to fret until Isa drags him back again. Eventually you are forced to agree not to take him anywhere, and in return he lets you know when he’s leaving and when he plans on coming back. 

He shows up for meals a lot, which is hard on your pocketbook but good for your heart. You hate that he won’t stay at Bruna’s- or even here with you; despite not being allowed to legally you’d offered it anyway. 

This is the pattern of the next few weeks, Vanitas edging ever so slightly closer and opening up, until the next full moon rolls around and you bring up Bruna’s again. 

“We’re all going to Bruna’s for the moon.” You try to mention it as casually as you can, but you can tell he tenses up anyway. 

“Okay?”

“It’s something we do every month, keeps Isa out of sight. You can come if you want.”

He’s quiet for a while, picking at the remains of his meal. He’s still uncomfortably skinny but he’s starting to fill out a little at least. You’d thought he was a child before, but now that he doesn’t look quite so rail thin you think he might be closer to twelve or thirteen. 

You desperately want to get him in for a checkup but he categorically refuses to see a doctor. You’ll figure something out eventually, but for now it’s a war of attrition. Bruna might have some ideas. 

She knew more about this raising kids thing than you did, though you were both flying blind with the half-feral thing. Even at your lowest point in the system you hadn’t quite qualified for that. 

“Okay.” He says, almost taking you by surprise after how long his silence had stretched. You grin. 

“Awesome. We’re meeting up tomorrow afternoon.”

He continues to surprise you when he actually shows up. 

Your minivan is starting to get pretty full, but Roxas elects to stay at Lea’s this month for some reason. You don’t know why for sure, but Lea seems to think he’d seen something that spooked him, he’d been holed up in the house for several days now.

“I’m surprised you’re out here with us.” You tease good naturedly. He shrugs. 

“Roxas insisted actually. Said he’d just stay in and beat all my high scores in Tetris.”

You bite your lip. 

“Maybe one of us should stay anyway, if it’s really scared him that bad.”

“We can’t leave Isa either though.” Lea points out. “He gets antsy if any of us are out of sight for long. It’s one night, and I’ve got him checking in every couple hours for me.”

“Okay.” You acquiesce. You still don’t like it, but you’re already on your way and it’s a little late to be turning around now. 

“I’m sure everything will go as planned.” Isa says in that solidly confident way that never fails to make you feel a little better, no matter how warranted the statement was. 

You pull up to the farmhouse late in the afternoon and greet Bruna at the porch. 

“Auntie this is Van. He’s like Isa.”

Vanitas snorts. 

“Isa is basically a newborn. I’ve been doing this my whole life. You don’t need to make sure I don’t chew on anything important.”

Bruna laughs. 

“Straight to the point, eh? I like you kid. Steak for dinner sound good?”

He blinks, bewildered, glances at you, and then nods. Lea comes up from behind and crows. 

“Oh we’re getting treated tonight! Thanks Brun.”

“That missus Brun to you, welp. Now get in here and clean up.”

Dinner is delicious. 

Afterwards, the moon rises and Isa trots out of the house covered in fur once more, sniffing over Vanitas who was already outside. You settle in on the porch steps, watching the two chase each other, joined shortly by Lea despite all his humanity, while Xion cheers from the side. 

“Quite the group you’ve collected for yourself.” Bruna sits beside you heavily, joints creaking as she goes. Her and her wife had been on the older side when they’d adopted you, and occasionally you feel like you see every one of those years in stiff joints and weathered hands. 

You wonder if you shouldn’t talk to her about when she’ll give up the farm at some point. 

… you already know exactly how that will go. 

“It’s unconventional.” You admit. “But it works.”

“That it seems to.” Bruna agrees. “How are you doing, Starlight?” 

You smile at the find knickname. 

“I’m fine, why?”

“All this werewolf business, the three of you, and now you’ve got three kids to raise.. and that’s not even getting into the legal things for two of ‘em. Any one of those things would be stressful, Star, and I just want to be sure you’re doing all right.”

“We’re making it work Auntie, I swear. We’re still trying to figure out what to do with Roxas and Vanitas, but I’m sure there has to be an answer somewhere. We just gotta find it.”

She pats you on the back, the thick weight of her hand heavy and comfortable. 

“You get that stubborn positivity from Elle, I swear.”

Her smile goes sad, and you feel yourself return it. 

“What about you Auntie? You’ve been all alone out here since they passed. Are you sure you’re not lonely?”

“Bah!” She huffs. “I’m a Baærsdottïr, we’re made of tougher stuff than that. Come now, child.”

“I know.” You laugh. “But I still gotta ask.”

She chuckles, pulling you in for an all encompassing hug. 

“Of course. Thank you my dear.”

A sudden pained shout startles both of you, and your head whips around to where Vanitas has his jaws in Isa’s ruff and tugging him away from a curled up Lea and a fretting Xion. 

You leap to your feet and run up, Bruna right behind you. You shove Isa’s nose out of the way, heedless of his distressed whine and pinned ears, and lean over Lea, who curls up as you try to see what happened. 

“Careful, careful.” He says through gritted teeth, clutching his arm to his chest tightly, but you can see the blood spreading through the fabric. 

“Fuck-“ your brain stalls at just how much there is, but a moment later there’s the sound of ripping fabric as Bruna gently but firmly shoves you aside and wraps Lea’s arm in her shirt. Xion sniffs, hands clutched to their chest, and you kneel next to them. 

“What happened?”

“We were playing.” Xion sniffles again. “Isa and Lea started tussling and Isa- I think it was an accident, but he bit him and then Vanitas bit Isa and-!” They stutter, and you glance over to where Van still has Isa’s ruff clamped in his jaws; clearly not a bite, merely a hold, but Xion wouldn’t know that you suppose. 

“You can let him go, Van. It was an accident.”

Vanitas doesn’t move, still holding the _ much _ larger wolf. You know he can understand you, he had told you himself that he could, something that only came with enough time, so you’re not sure why he refuses. 

You can’t talk to him about it now though. You look over at Lea and Bruna, and he hisses again as she ties off the ends of the impromptu binding. She huffs, and then hefts him in both arms. 

“What the- it’s my arm that’s hurt! I can walk!” He protests, drawing some weak giggles from both you and Xion. Isa attempts to turn his head to follow their movement, but Vanitas growls and clamps down harder. 

“This is faster.” Bruna asserts. “Starlight, don’t worry about Isa, the boy will let him go once we’re out of range, and I’m going to need your help to try and clean and bind this properly.”

You don’t know how she knows that, but you trust your adoptive mothers judgment, and jog after her. You cast a quick glance at Xion, silently asking if they want to come inside with you, but they shake their head, sitting next to Isa instead. 

Fair enough. 

“I’m an adult!” You hear Lea continue to protest as you jog to catch up with Bruna. 

“Could have fooled me, young buck.” Bruna snorts, kicking open to door and setting Lea down next to the big laundry sink, fishing into a nearby cupboard and pulling out a first aid kit. “Alright let me see.”

She tugs at his arm, and despite his hissing he manages to pry it from his body and let her work. She hums critically. 

“Yeah this needs stitches. Starlight I have some numbing agent upstairs, run get it for me.”

You do, and come back to find her cleaning out the wound thoroughly, while Lea looks increasingly pale. She takes the bottle with a grunt and gets to work. You get conscripted into holding Lea steady. He barely flinches, and you’re in awe of his tolerance, but he does get more wobbly as he loses more blood. 

“Is there a reason we couldn’t take him to a hospital?” You ask, voice shaky. Bruna huffs, concentrating on the thread she’s weaving. 

“Did you want them to put animal patrol on alert for a dangerous wolf in the area?” She answers. “Besides, time was of the essence. Still no guarantee though.”

“Time?” Lea asks, eyes closed but clearly listening. 

“Well it all depends on how much your boy got into him, but you _ do _ remember the legends around werewolf bites?” She says pointedly. 

You feel yourself get a little pale. 

“I’m gonna be a werewolf?”

“Maybe. Depends.”

That’s not encouraging. Lea tips his head back. 

“I can’t take a day off every month like that. I’m gonna lose my job.”

“We’ll figure it out.” You reassure. “You hate Xemnas anyways, we’ll find you a different job.”

“A job? In this economy?” He tries to joke, but it falls flat. 

Bruna finishes up, wrapping his arm securely and patting his shoulder. 

“I may not have much out here,” Bruna says slowly. “but if you need help sometimes you can always ask. There’s painkillers in the upstairs bathroom. Go make some eggs and orange juice, I’m going to check on the kids outside.”

And with that she stands and leaves, leaving you and Lea to stumble upstairs. 

You don’t see either Vanitas or Isa until the next morning, though Xion assures you both are fine and huddled in the front yard when they come in a couple hours later. Apparently Van is blocking Isa from coming inside, which you think might be some kind of protective instinct, but you’re not sure.

You get up with the sun anyway, as it’s become something of a habit, and feel almost bereft when you don’t see Isa curled at the foot of the bed. You crawl out, ruffling Lea’s hair as his jaw cracks in a wide yawn, and prepare to go about your day.

Isa stumbles through the front door just as you make it downstairs, hair in dissaray and covered in leaves and grass and not much else. He nuzzles you as he walks past, but is otherwise a zombie as he heads towards the bedroom, presumably to get dressed.

You’re not sure if it’s an instinct thing that’s got him doing the nuzzling thing, or if he just likes it.

Van enters just behind him, wrapped in the blanket that had been left out for them. He doesn’t appear to have much shame though.

“Where’s the other one. Lea.” He says, appearing to not suffer from sleep deprivation the way Isa was.

“I’m right here what do you want- jesus could you put some pants on first?” Lea grumbles as he comes down the steps himself, arm in a makeshift sling. Vanitas ignores him, moving forward and grabbing his chin and dragging his face down until Vanitas can look him in the eye.

He growls.

“Fuck.”

“What? What?” You ask, very confused. Van just huffs.

“Thought I was fast enough. Guess not. Congrats you have another werewolf in the family.”

“I’m not too surprised. What do you mean fast enough?”

“The bite itself isn’t what makes someone a werewolf.” Vanitas shrugs. “It’s the saliva getting in the bloodstream. Of course big boy upstairs hasn’t figured out that not all his instincts are good yet so he tried to lick it better. Thought I managed to pull him away in time, but I guess not.”

Huh.

“Well, thanks for trying.” Lea says, ruffling his hair. “Want breakfast? I think I smell pancakes.”

You take a sniff and concur. Aunt Bruna must already be up.

“C’mon, if we hurry we can ask if she’ll do the blueberry kind for us.”

-

It’s a long month.

Lea does get fired from one of his jobs, though the other one is thankfully more understanding. Unfortunately it puts more stress on both his finances and his prospects for trying to take on Roxas legally, despite Roxas still being extremely cagey about the strangest things, and if you’re being honest it’s starting to concern you.

He’s barely left Lea’s home since whatever scared him before the last full moon, and that can’t be good for anyone, let alone a growing teenager. Both you and Lea can tell he’s starting to get stir crazy, and adding on the usual teenage hormones and the stress of whatever spooked him, he’s an emotional powderkeg and all of you can tell.

All this weighs in the back of your mind as you pack up the car to go to Bruna’s once more.

“C’mon Rox, there’ll be plenty of space, no one around for miles. Like a little vacation. Hell you could probably stay there for a bit like Van just for a change of pace.” You can hear Lea trying to cajole Roxas into coming with. Apparently he’d left the window open.

You don’t hear the answer, but when Lea comes out the door and down the stairs alone you can put two and two together.

“I’m worried about that kid. Is his plan just to hide in there forever?” Lea shrugs and bites his lip.

“I can stay.” Xion pipes up. Isa frowns.

“Absolutely not. I don’t mind you two hanging out on your own, but we will be gone the whole night, and effectively unavailable to return if something goes wrong.”

“You left Roxas on his own last month!” Xion points out, and Lea winces.

“A decision I disagreed with.” Isa returns flatly. “But Roxas is not my ward, you are. No, Xion.”

They pout, but the argument is clearly finished.

“I don’t like it either,” Lea admits, “But I can’t drag him kicking and screaming. The less attention we draw to.. All this the better.”

“Let me call Aerith.” You say. “I know you wanted as few people involved as possible, but there’s no one I’d trust more.”

“Would Roxas accept that? His mistrust of strangers is something of a sticking point.”

“I’ll ask her to just keep an eye on the place.” You offer. “She owes me a favour anyways.”

Lea takes a deep breath.

“Okay. Okay.”

You make arrangements, and though Aerith isn’t exactly happy she’s basically going to be awake all night for you, she acquiesces. Surprisingly, Roxas does agree to his new baby sitter, for which you’re thankful because you would owe Aerith way more than an explanation if you’d had to make her sit outside all night. You still owe her many explanations later, though.

You show up at the farm at about mid afternoon, plenty early for the main event, but lots of time to get settled in and play some games. 

You’re halfway through dinner when Lea’s phone rings. 

You feel dread curl in your gut though it’s just as likely to be his job asking him to come in to work tomorrow as anything. Lea answers without so much as blinking. 

You can hear a flustered and panicked tone on the other side, and Lea goes pale. He heads for the door, grabbing the keys to your van as he goes. You jog after him, grabbing his hand. 

“Someone is trying to break in and take Rox.” He tells you, not putting down the phone. “Aerith is unconscious and he’s blockaded himself in the bathroom, but there’s no telling how long he can hold out.”

Your hands shake. You take the keys and head for the car. 

“Okay, I’ll go get him. Call the police.”

You hear desperate hissing on the other end of the line. 

“Roxas please, we tried laying low but you’re being attacked-“

Roxas says something, and Lea stops cold. 

“He’s right we can’t call the police.” Is all he says, voice hard, wrenching open the passenger side door. 

“What? Why? And get out of there! You’re turning tonight you need to stay here.”

“I won’t leave him! If I turn while we’re out then so be it, I never should have left him behind!” He snarls. 

You glance at the slowly setting sun. 

“.... we might make it. Cmon.” It's a risk and it'll be close, but it was a roll of the dice to be sure.

You briefly wonder if you shouldn’t bring Isa too, but one werewolf in town was bad enough, and if this goes badly..

Well you’d take that bullet yourself before you take the last remaining part of Xion’s family from them. 

Lea stays on the phone with Roxas the whole drive, and you break more than a few speed limits on the way. Roxas has apparently fled the bathroom when it started to look like they might break through, and is now playing a high stakes game of cat and mouse with the intruders. Lea has a white knuckle grip on his phone even as he speaks calmly and quietly to Roxas on the other end. 

You pull up to Lea’s apartment, noting how peaceful it looks, contrary to how tense you yourself are. 

“What now?” You whisper. 

Lea shoves his hand into his boot, pulling out his switchblade. 

“We go in and ask them what the fuck they’re doing on my property.” He growls. 

You edge upstairs and up to the door, listening carefully. You hear voices. 

“Listen girl, we know he’s here, you just have to tell us where and we’ll let you go.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, my friend just asked me to house sit for them-ah!”

You press a fist to your mouth, stifling your gasp. God bless Aerith’s stubborn quick thinking, but you owe her _ way _ more than an explanation now. 

“How the fuck does he keep slipping us, this place is the size of a trash can.” Comes another voice, this one directly on the other side of the door. 

“We’ve barred the windows and you have the door, so he’s still here. It’s just a matter of time.” A third voice. 

Lea decides he’s had enough, bursting through the door and laying out the lay guarding it with a single solid punch to the face. 

“_ How about you all get out of my home.” _ He snarls, brandishing his blade. 

You settle into stance, thanking Bruna for those boxing classes all those years ago, even if you are a little rusty. 

Thankfully neither of them appear to have guns, or if they do they don’t reach for them. The first pulls out a black baton and lunges for Lea, who sidesteps neatly and swipes at him with the knife. He misses, but as the man turns to swing again Lea catches him across the arm, deep enough to make the man shout and drop the weapon. 

The second man circles toward you, mirroring your stance, fists raised. He jabs, which you block, and return. You trade a few quick blows, testing each other, before he decides his greater stature gives him advantage, and he lunges forward, feinting left and grabbing your hair when you try to dodge. 

You don’t try to pull away though, instead moving with the painful tug, grabbing his arm and throwing your legs up to wrap around his neck. He falls forward, entirely off balance, and your back clips something, the nightstand? On the way down, but you hold tight. He lands with a thud, and before you can think to plan your next move suddenly Roxas is there, bringing what looks like a lamp down heavily on the mans head. The lamp shatters, and the man lays still. 

You look at his face, and realize you’ve seen him before. He was out of uniform but...

Roxas pants, and you look over to see Lea pushing the limp body of his assailant off of him. He’s covered in blood, and you’re afraid to ask who’s it is. 

“You garbage little thieves-“ the man Lea had hit by the door is up again, but before he can do more than take a step some comes down heavily across the back of his head, and as he falls you see Aerith, holding the frying pan you’d made lunch in earlier. She looks up at you. 

“Can we leave?” She asks. Her voice shakes. 

“Yeah, let's get out of here.” Lea agrees, and none of you waste any time heading outside. You pile into the van and drive away, a deathly silence hovering. 

“Comet.” Aerith finally breaks it. “I think I want that explanation now.”

“Aerith I really wish I had the answers.” You groan. “Roxas?”

He shrugs. 

“We bringing her to the farm?” Lea asks. 

“You are _ not _ dropping me off after all that!” Aerith protests. 

“She’s in it this far.” You don’t take your eyes off the road. “I told you, Lea. I trust her.”

“Okay. I trust you.” He says, glancing at the nearly set sun. “Think we’ll make it back in time?”

“Not a hope in hell.” There’s still a solid half hour to go, and only minutes till moonrise. You're already speeding as fast as you dare feel comfortable. Lea takes a deep, grounding breath.

“Not much time to explain then. Hey Aerith? If you think tonight’s been wild so far just wait for this next part.” He grins almost wickedly, and Roxas kicks the back of his seat.

“Don’t be a butt.” He grumps.

“I’m sorry, who decided to stay home on the night of the full moon instead of coming out to the farm with us?” Lea shoots back. Roxas pokes out his tongue, and then shifts awkwardly.

“.... ‘M sorry. Didn’t think they’d try to break in like that.”

“Yeah, you wanna tell us why off-duty cops are after you, Roxas?” You ask, fully aware this conversation is all over the place, but not sure how to railroad it appropriately.

Roxas mumbles something indistinct that you can’t hear. You see Aerith reach over and pull him into a hug, so you assume she did.

“That’s awful.” You hear her say. “I swear, we’ll figure something out so they can’t get you again.”

“Lea’s been trying.” You just barely hear him mumble. “But I don’t trust it. They bought me out of the system last time, what’s to stop them doing it again?”

“Us.” Lea turns in his seat. “You think tonight is a one off? None of them is allowed to touch you.” You can’t see his expression, but you know that tone of voice, the hard edge steel of a man who will keep that promise under any circumstances.

You want to know exactly what happened, but having missed it the first time and other topics still to broach, you resign to asking Lea later. For now though…

Lea grunts, curling forward in his seat. The sun has set.

“Want me to pull over?” You ask, remembering Xion’s accounts of Isa’s first shift. He shakes his head though.

“I’m fine. Guaruntee you I will not be getting back in this thing after, so we better just get there.”

“Why does everyone hate my van?” You grumble.

“Are you okay?” Aerith asks from the back seat, concern in her tone.

“Oh right.” Roxas says, like he’s forgotten. “Lea’s a werewolf now.”

“Roxas not right now.” Aerith chides, and you make a noise.

“No he’s right actually. You know how me and Lea and Isa have been going out to the farm once a month? It’s cause Isa’s a werewolf too.”

“You told me you were having a family night with Bruna because she was feeling lonely!” She says. Lea pants harshly next to you.

“I mean it was a nice bonus, but that’s not exactly what started it.” You admit. You glance over at Lea, who looks pale and shaky and just a little fuzzier at his hairline. You grit your teeth, willing the car to go faster. “Rox, mind helping Lea put down the seat a bit? He’s gonna get big here in a minute.”

They fumble for a minute before the seat comes down and Roxas has to shuffle over more into Aerith to give it room. Lea’s back arches as he lets out a pained yell.

“Aaaaaaugh!” 

You reach out a hand, attempting to comfort him any way you can, resting it against his leg. You feel muscles twitch and spasm beneath your grip, and you have to force yourself to keep your eyes on the road. Seams tear audibly as his form stretches.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck.” Lea swears in succession, only stopping as mid word he hisses and snaps his jaw, having bitten himself on teeth that are suddenly fangs.

“Oh god, oh god..” You hear Aerith murmur, and she looks just as stressed as you feel, but her and Roxas have moved as close to Lea as they can manage, Roxas holding his hand and Aerith petting his hair. You think you see fuzzy ears in the mirror, but you can’t be sure with how wild his hair is.

A howl rips through the small space, and suddenly there’s a tail in your face, and Lea is thrashing, caught awkwardly in his seatbelt. A back paw lashes out, catching you across the arm, thankfully not drawing blood but making the car jerk awkwardly and you decide to pull over at least for the moment.

Lea growls and whines in turn, nearly fully wolf now as far as you can tell, clearly confused and scared by that. You put your hazards on and park as far off to the side as you can manage. You’re still a few miles from the farm, but worst case scenario you walk the rest of the way and come back for the car later.

“Lea, Lea, it’s okay, shh shh shh.” You turn, helping Roxas and Aerith untangle the thrashing wolf and get him right side up. He calms after that, though he clearly wants out of the confined space, nosing at you and Roxas in turn and attempting to climb over all of you in search of an exit.

“Lea- ack! Stop!” Roxas squawks as Lea’s heavy paws land on him. You look around your motley group. A teenager who had almost been kidnapped earlier, a young woman who had attempted to stop it and looked every bit as ruffled for the experience as one would assume, a dog who was usually a man, and you. The tired, stressed out datemate of two dog-men now.

“You know what. We need some exercise anyway.” You say in defeat, grabbing your flashlight and pulling open the door, barely able to get out of the way as Lea bounds out after you. He runs across the pavement, doing several circles and jumps, just excited to be out of the confined space. You hear Roxas groan loudly, still inside the car, causing Lea to bound back towards the vehicle, hopping from foot to foot and whining the longer Roxas doesn’t appear.

“Lea, over here.” You whistle, distracting him and causing him to nearly bowl you over with the force that he runs up to you. He pants in your face, tail going a mile a minute and nearly begging for affection. 

You ruffle his ears, giving Aerith and Roxas time to exit the vehicle without being assaulted by what must be a couple hundred pounds of Dog. It doesn’t last long though, and Roxas hasn’t quite finished exiting when Lea bounds back towards him, taking the loose end of his jacket in his teeth and tugging him away from the car.

Roxas clearly doesn’t like this.

“Sorry kid, I don’t think he’s going to let either of us out of his sight, which means we need to walk with him. Although-” You reach into the car and toss your keys to Aerith. “You can probably get away with it. Mind driving my car the rest of the way to the farm? You remember where it is, right?”

She nods. 

“I do, but..” She casts her gaze across your strange group. You owe her so many favours now you can just feel it.

“We’ll be fine, there’s no one out this way except Bruna and that Lauriam guy up the hill. Let the others know what happened for us. We only had Lea’s phone and I have no idea where he put it.”

“Okay.” She agrees, pulling you in for a hug. “I’ll see you in an hour or two. Come home safe.”

“Can do.” You salute as she pulls away. She hops into the drivers seat, pauses, and then rolls down the window.

“You better get me those rare perennials I’ve been wanting after all this.”

“Sis if that’s the only thing you ask of me for what I dragged you into tonight, it’ll be way less than I owe.” You laugh. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

She smiles, and then puts the van into gear and drives away. You watch the fading tail lights before glancing towards Lea, who paces with cooped up energy, and Roxas, who just looks tired.

“You ready kid? I can carry you if you’re tired?” You might die and have to pawn it off on Lea, who could probably manage holding the kid on his back, but you’d try.

Thankfully, he shakes his head.

“I’m okay. Let’s go.”

Lea yips in excitement as the three of you start making your way down the dark road with only your flashlight to light the way.

Still, it could be worse.

**Author's Note:**

> im deliberately vague on what exactly happened with roxas and his backstory. i have a rough idea but honestly? i mostly just didn't want to get into it. it's hella dark and i wanted to end this on a somewhat lighter note. with werewolf families working hard to make a life with each other.
> 
> Also Bruna may or may not have known and possibly dated a werewolf at some point. Lady knows too much.


End file.
